We May Not Have It All Together, But Together We Have It All.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Run...Jump.....and Let Go....



Brock took off running as soon as he saw his Christmas present come through the airline door. He was so excited to see his daddy.




The kids literally jumped into Ry's arms and held him tight. The kids continued to hold on tight to Ry for the next three days. They were his little shadows and followed him everywhere.




I initially had mixed feelings about Ry coming home. Of course I wanted to see him but another emotional goodbye was too much to think about. Im glad he came home, in the end it was worth it, but eventually we had to let go....
After getting over the goodbyes, I started to think that maybe letting go could be embraced in a way. Maybe letting go is feared because it is about change. Could I let go in a different way?
Im not one for new years resolutions. Mainly because I dont follow rigid things like diet of weight and then end up feeling worse thus defeating the purpose of a resolution. So with the new year beginning, I think I will make a promise to think more outside of myself and nourish my spirit with loving that I could let go. I let go of fear and am welcoming the new year.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Hello and Goodbye.......

We got some great news!!! Since Ryan is still in the States for the next two weeks, doing his pre-mobilization training, he is going to be able to come home for three days over Christmas. We are SO excited.

This news made me really think about our life and how truly blessed we are. Even though my husband is gone and will be away from us for the next year, we really have so much to be thankful for.

As I thought about my blessings, I began to really see and hear people around me and saw how many people in the world are stuck or sad about things that don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. These people are stuck in a trap of negativity and always seem to have something to be upset about. I felt sad for them. They are exhausting themselves striving for some perfect world. If our world was perfect, wouldn't it be boring? I think imperfection brings character and life.

I made a choice to remember that we have a roof over our head, food on the table, our health and most importantly, each other. These are the important things in life.

Of course we will all have those days where nothing seems to go right. But that is life. I'm saying goodbye to the forces in my life that encourage perfection and hello to those who love imperfection.

We cant wait to see Ryan and spend this week soaking up his presence. This week, really look at your Christmas lights and see how bright they shine. Be with your family and see how really "being" feels.


Have a Merry Christmas everyone!!

Monday, December 13, 2010

A little funny magic





"Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things"
We all had a first this week. We got to say "hi" to and touch Dancer, the reindeer. There was a Christmas Open House at the hospital and the reindeer came for a visit. It was SO cold, but really fun. The best thing about the reindeer for me was that it reinforced the magic of the season with the kids. The magic only lasts for a handful of years with kids and I hate that it is starting to diminish. So this was such a blessing for the kids to rekindle it.

On our way out of the hospital, we ran into a nurse who was giving tours of the operating room. The kids got hats and masks at the tour so it was inevitable that there would be some serious surgeries going on at home that night.

The shots were given by a dart gun and prep was through hand sanitizer.

Dont worry, Brock pulled through and survived!

We have been fortunate to Skype a couple times this week with Ryan. The novelty of seeing your face on the computer screen has not worn off for the kids, they mostly make funny faces, funny noises and extreme close ups for daddy. However, we love being able to see Ry and tell him about our day.

I hope everyone has a great week. Remember the little things, the magic and the funny things to be grateful for.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Glass half full.......

In week one I was committed to get back into our routine. The kids went back to school after Thanksgiving break and I dove back into my schoolwork. Routine was the best thing for all of us.

We had a great week! Lots of fun and I laughed a lot. I made it a point this week to jot down some of the one-liners that came out of my kiddos mouths. They are so funny. Ryan and I are such dry humor (and often inappropriate humor) individuals so the kids were doomed from day one to see humor in everything.

On Tuesday morning, Brock and I were walking to the bus stop and he took a deep breath in and told me "I love the smell of superheros in the morning..." (I'm certain he hasn't watched Apocalypse Now, so the coincidental scent remark was h.i.l.a.r.i.o.u.s)

On Wednesday, I counted Sydney telling her brother he was "inappropriate and making bad choices" ten times. He probably was..but does she have to act like such a counselors kid....

On Thursday, I told Brock to look up at the sky because the whole sky was filled with layers of clouds that looked almost exactly the same. His response..."Geeze mom, that's a whole lot of angels looking down on us..." (Didn't look like angels, but I like the way he thinks...)


On Friday, we were getting ready to go see Santa. Brock started acting all nervous and whispered to me....."What do I do if Santa is an impostor?" (How the heck do I answer that...I managed to)




I had decided to do a different project each month to count the days Ryan is gone. So we made a paper link chain for this month. However, I quickly found out that Brock is still not grasping the abstract idea of future time. So every time Brock would tear away a link he would think that what was left for the month was when daddy would be home. It was just too difficult for Brock to understand month to month.

So, our newest project is for the whole 365 days. We filled up one glass jar with glass pebbles and each day we take one pebble and put it in an empty jar.
This way the kids can see when the halfway mark comes and also when we are close to homecoming.


What a better way to envision our glass being half full........